Environment, Fitness, and Why Place Matters

I love my neighborhood. I live in what some call the Jefferson area. My kids go to school a few blocks down the road and my husband teaches at Jefferson High School less than one mile away. We are two streets down from a community center and pool, and our streets are lined with mature shade trees that stand tall in front of homes that were built in the middle of the century, some of which are still occupied by the original owners or their families.

The homes in this West Side community range from million dollar historical homes to middle class bungalows to working class cottages and rental duplexes. The wide variety of income levels indicates an eclectic mix of people, including politicians, roofers, teachers, professors, poets, mechanics, service workers, etc.

One of my favorite things to do in this area is run to Woodlawn Lake, an activity that I have indulged in less because of one thing: dogs. In fact, the last time I ran, two weeks ago, I was lunged at by three of them.

It is well-known that there is a dog problem on the West Side. In fact, my friend and fellow Ph.D., Lori Rodriguez, began the Westside Dog Initiative to regulate the dog population (and improve the overall well-being and quality of life of these pups) by encouraging the community to spay/neuter their pets. The fear of being bitten by strays is enough to keep people and their children from moving freely in their own neighborhoods.

But it’s not just the dogs. In areas all over San Antonio there are also problems of violence. San Antonio is fortunate to have beautiful parks and playgrounds scattered throughout the city, but they cannot be frequented by families when they are sites of drug deals and general loitering (as is the case of the beautiful and new playground at Guadalupe Plaza). And then you have your everyday creepsters that ogle and whistle.

When we think of ways to “get fit,” we usually think of gym memberships or outdoor exercise. If you struggle financially, and there are no gyms nearby, the gym membership is out of the question. That leaves you with outdoor fitness. Fitness magazines frequently encourage their readers to “hit the sidewalk” and “take in the view” of their neighborhood. These articles are accompanied by pictures of smiling women wearing Lululemon yoga pants and pushing their babies in fancy jogging strollers. The leaves on the trees are almost always colored. When I see these pictures the first word that comes to mind is Connecticut.

But, if you live in an environmentally hostile area, exercising outside, an activity that draws attention to you and your body in ways that are potentially threatening, is out of the question, as well. What are we to do?

The city of San Antonio has peripherally addressed these issues by committing itself to promoting a culture of fitness in areas of need. Fitness in the Park, a program that runs 8 weeks each Summer and Fall (possibly will happen in the Spring, too), provides free exercise classes a few times a week at popular parks. I happened to drive by on the kickoff day and my heart was overjoyed at the sight of literally hundreds of people—probably closer to 1,000—participating in the evening workouts at Woodlawn.

However, the program at most parks provides just one or two days a week of instruction; further, the parks are limited to just one form of exercise, so if you want something other than “walking and exercise,” as was featured at Woodlawn Lake this summer, then you’re going to have to go to another side of town. (Free lap swimming is offered at Woodlawn from 7:30-9:30 am, but only during the week, which is not convenient for those who work traditional hours)

Another event that COSA has instituted is Síclovía, a bi-annual “free event that temporarily makes the selected San Antonio streets available to residents for recreational and sports activities.” Síclovía is funded by a “Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) grant from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to address obesity in Bexar County,” and is one of the “evidence-based community strategies for reducing and preventing obesity” (http://siclovia.org/).

Síclovía takes place along a three mile stretch of Broadway, close to the zoo and Brackenridge Park, and runs parallel to the Pearl Brewery, a posh development that features a weekly farmer’s market. Síclovía is a wonderful event that encourages activity and allows families the space and safety to ride bikes and generally enjoy playing in the street.

But Síclovía occurs in an area that already has its own cultures of fitness. The area boasts the newly developed Riverwalk annex that is frequented by hundreds of joggers and Brackenridge Park is the location of many fun runs.

The city’s athletic program supervisor, Pete García, explains on the website that “What Síclovía does is remove barriers.” If the goal of the program was to remove infrastructural barriers, then the program was a success—indeed, streets were completely shut down for hours. But, is four hours of play, twice a year, in an area already possessive of a vibrant fitness scene, adequately addressing the obesity problem? What of the barriers in areas that prevent SA citizens from engaging in fitness on a daily basis?

Lastly, one of the newest initiatives by the Mayor’s Council of Fitness is “San Antonio Walks!” a program that provides training for SA residents to lead neighborhood walking groups. For the sake of not repeating myself, see everything above. I can see this program being successful in many places—and I’m tempted to start my own group!—but we need additional programming for those who do not live in environments conducive to leading walking groups.

We need to take back the streets—an environmental revolution. Perhaps the City of San Antonio can bring Síclovía to areas of town that need to be made safer. Or maybe we can do more to educate people on how to do quality workouts in their own homes, even if those homes are small. I’ve started my own small revolution by leading an open workout group for women on Sunday mornings at Woodlawn Lake.

I urge the City to listen to its constituents and develop programming that is sensitive to the class, environmental, and safety issues of our city. We need to come up with more innovative and accessible ways to promote not just “a” culture of fitness, but many cultures of fitness that reflect the various and diverse needs of San Antonio.